Jotun: Valhalla Edition

Even hack and slash fans will not like this.

I'm not a Jotun backer but it was on my radar for a while before release. The artwork was the main element that drew me to Jotun, and it definitely delivers on that front. Unfortunately, the artwork is really the best part of the experience. Jotun is good if you're in a certain mood, but there's not a whole lot going on in this game. You'll find yourself exploring a variety of fantasy landscapes, and sometimes fending off smaller enemies until you face the mighty Jotun of each area. The animations and background art have all clearly had a lot of heart poured into them, as well as the Norse mythology setting. The gameplay is passable at best, and boring for a large part of the game. Exploring the landscapes can be interesting at times but often tedious. Combat is simple, and you will be granted greater abilities if you explore more thoroughly. The ending it ultimately satisfying but the journey there may not be entirely worth it. I don't regret playing, but wouldn't play again.

The game is great and the nordic mythologic lore is always a fashinating one. Graphics are fair and levels are a pleasure to expore and re-explore to discover all secrets and power ups, boss fights are old style ones and special abilities of Thora have to be used properly. Not all aspects of the game are good, often the player's travels are lonely, there are very few enemies to kill before the boss battle and the game itself is very short. It seems Jotun hasn't had all the improvements that could make it a true success, maybe they had not enough money or time to develop it any longer. Anyway the game as it is now is worth buy and play it, I give it 4 stars because of the very immersive nordic atmosphere wich I love too much.

I was drawn in initially by the art style, something about the giant Jotuns animation has a Don Bluth feeling to it and that hooked me right away. The protagonists' quest towards Valhalla has indeed something quite cinematic at moments, with long quiet sequences where one can admire the beautiful landscapes interspersed with all sorts of battles, from the more tactical to the most frantic. Maybe the automatic zoom-in and out is at moments a bit confusing, though I suspect it also has its purpose to establish a sense of the vastness of the landscape and of the small (yet powerful) heroine in its midst. The narration is delivered in a 'Scandinavian' language and to me adds to the immersion with its sense of mystique, while the background story unfolds as one progresses. Maybe I would have liked to see a bit more of that beautiful animation style put to use for the ending, but all in all I loved to carry Thora through her journey. Five Nordic godlike stars.

You can really tell that they put all the effort and money into the art, music, and voice-acting... and none into the actual gameplay. The puzzles are basic fare and go on for far too long, and the combat substitutes challenge for just making the fight take up more time. Overall, this feels like a flash RPG.